


Betrayal

by DolleyAntoinette



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Inspired by Real Events, Spoilers if you don't know about Alm's past, The Russian Revolution AU no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 23:11:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12443937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DolleyAntoinette/pseuds/DolleyAntoinette
Summary: “Focus on what you can do, not what you can not."Zeke recalls the accounts of each month he spent which the Royal Family of Rigel before watching them die.A Historical AU based on the real events of the Romanova Family of Russia.*Edit: I have changed the ending to fit more fluently with the story.





	Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: I have changed the ending to fit more fluently with the story.

_On March 15th, 1916, the royal family of Rigel were put under house arrest._

Ezekiel sighed, lighting a cigarette before putting it in his mouth, spinning the lighter around. So this was going to be his job for God knows how long? Babysitting the spoilt royals. It was pathetic he had worked so hard and this was his ‘reward’ of a job. As he took the stick of tobacco out of his mouth and breathed out the smoke, he was somewhat grateful it was a smaller family, he calculated them up in his head in a few seconds, there was only 4 people he’d actually have to be watching over: the Emperor; Prince Albein; Prince Berkut, the mere nephew of the king. It was strange that he was living with them, but his parents were long dead, so Zeke supposed it made sense; and Lady Rinea, the fiancée of Berkut, he knew little of the girl, she was from a noble house that was impoverished but that was really it, he wondered why she even stayed with them and was arrested alongside them considering she technically wasn’t part of the family and it was going to be impossible for her to marry into the family, but quite frankly Zeke didn’t care enough to bother asking. He dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his foot, he had work to do.

_April, 1916_

Zeke had only been with the family for a short amount of time, less than a month in fact, but had already learnt so much about the royals as people, even if it was just a case of watching them and recording their actions, it was interesting to learn about them from up close, he never cared for the family before, he certainly knew the general trivia everyone knew, but never bothered studying into them, he had other things to focus on, he had Nyna, work, then moving away, and then back to work, they were far more important than studying people only better than him via birthright. But that didn’t take away the fact that it was oddly fascinating to watch a family who were constantly in the limelight be… Normal.

In the spring the family spent an awful lot of time outside, Emperor Rudolf enjoyed walking in the lavish gardens of the castle grounds, Albien (or Alm as Zeke discovered he prefered to be addressed by) would laugh and chat with his father, or he would sit outside and write letters to his sweetheart who he knew he would never be with but still loved dearly, picking flowers and pressing them into the envelope for her, the first time it happened, Zeke made no time to waste asking him what the letters were for.

With a sheepish grin of a schoolboy in puppy love he replied simply with a “It’s for Anthiese.”

Zeke quickly figured out that Anthiese was a princess in Zofia, the youngest of the litter of royals Lima IV had somehow managed his brides to give birth to, Zeke was grateful he wasn’t have to watch over them.

Zeke had to read every letter Alm wrote before it was sent, he had to admit, it was awkward reading the notes of a 16 year old boy to his girlfriend who he’d never really see, they were innocent and mischievous yet charming and poetic, or at least that’s what Alm tried to make them sound like. He also had to read letters Princess Anthiese, whom Alm affectionately called Celica, when Zeke questioned this Alm bashfully explained that it came from an old world ‘ _coelica’_ which meant _‘heavenly’_ and that it just sort of stuck as a nickname, Zeke tutted and rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile, ever since he left Nyna he had forgotten how nice romance is, it reminded him of her slightly, he didn’t recall ever giving her a nickname that was a new name, unlike Alm’s Celica, but he would call her his princess, and she would get all flustered and embarrassed and it was just the cutest thing he had even seen.

Although what in the end reminded him of his love affair with Nyna was the two love birds living in the castle, Berkut and Rinea, she would lay her head on his lap and pick flowers, humming songs to her love as he mumbled soft words to her running a hand through her hair, occasionally placing a chocolate or piece of fruit to her lips and feeding it to her. These things were simple actions, and yet were so affectionate that after watching them, he felt sick to his stomach as he began to regret ever leaving Nyna at all.

_May, 1916_

Spring was still in bloom and the family continued their usual activities, although they were more frequent due to the rain beginning to go away, Zeke didn’t see any differences in their behaviour, although he did note how they were surprisingly happy for a family under house arrest, after all their home was a grand prison, but still a prison nonetheless.

They still supported each other as if nothing changed, he noticed how every few weeks Berkut would give Rinea jewellery, Zeke assumed it came from the prince’s late mother as there was no other way to get such beautiful jewels in their current condition, although he never saw Rinea wear the jewellery, when he asked her what she was doing with all these gifts, she bashfully justified herself with excuses like not being a jewellery girl or preferring them to stay safe or some other thing he couldn’t catch through her stutter as her cheeks glowed bright red.

Berkut approached him later that day and told him not to “interrogate” his beloved Rinea again.

_June, 1916_

As summer rolled around the family waste no time being outside all day, enjoying cold treats which normally in Rigel’s condition would be unable to eaten, so they were going to appreciate the short summer while it was around. Rudolf had taken a liking to Zeke, often complimenting him or treating him like one of his own, Alm also was fond of the guard, occasionally having a bit of banter with the man, which Zeke didn’t mind at all. Berkut was stand offish, but not rude he didn’t care for chatter and knew their relationship would be formal and professional, Rinea hardly spoke to him, mostly she clung to Berkut’s arm or was by herself. Zeke wondered if she had any friends other than her fiancé, if she did she certainly never mentioned them or tried to contact them. Zeke came to the conclusion that she didn’t have any.

_July, 1916_

The heat grew above average and the family traded in their thick and thermal clothing for thinner and lighter garments, they also began to try and find more hobbies to keep themselves entertained, Rudolf became interested in photography and started reading up on it, he used the camera he had lying around the house for a few months to take pictures of the family and house, he even took a few with Zeke in them, Zeke didn’t mind. Alm and Berkut became a little more laid back about how they behaved around Zeke, they seemed to have some friendly rivalry going on, fighting each other with wooden swords and laughing when it was over as they were exhausted and beaten, patting each other on the back and complimenting themselves, and Rinea began to open up a bit more too, she found an old paint set and became determined to teach herself to paint, Berkut smiled at this and kissed her, he overheard Berkut mentioning to Alm that he wanted Rinea to have more hobbies as it hurt him to see her so bored and alone.

_August, 1916_

As summer began to end they soaked it up while they could, enjoying the sun before it left them. Rudolf became a keen photographer and took photos while the light outside was enough to create sharp images, Berkut and Alm continued to act boyish and brutish, Berkut even exchanging in some persiflage with Zeke, a surprise to both of them. Rinea did start to paint as well, it first happened when they were in the gardens, she set up the easel and it actually looked as if she was going to create a masterpiece in the setting, with her bonnet holding her hair back and her long fingers gingerly wrapped around the paintbrush as she selected the paints and tried to recreate the view she had.

The poor dear was not a good painter at all.

_September, 1916_

As autumn came along it became chilly and the royals going outside became less and less frequent, as their clothes became heavier they spent more time indoors. Alm began scouring the libraries, apparently Anthiese was a keen reader and he wanted to impress her by reading some of her favourite novels and mention them casually in his letters to impress her, Zeke noticed the things him and his cousin would do for love and more and more he regretted how he treated Nyna… Always putting work first and then her, and leaving her with less than a goodbye only a simple “I release you.” to allow her to date other men. It was pathetic of him. He never bothered to read her favourite books, to ask her about her day, to do things which only took a few seconds for him which would take over a week for Alm.

Berkut and Rinea spent many hours to themselves in their chambers, he didn’t know what they did up there, and didn’t wish to know in case of any… Risqué activities that was going up there, although something in him doubted it. She was just turning 15 later that month and Zeke didn’t want to imagine the idea of a 14 year old girl in a sexual situation with a 16 year old boy. So instead he came to the conclusion that whatever they were doing was innocent.

_October, 1916_

As a cold bite grew in the air Rudolf gave Zeke an old jacket, he told him to put it on and see if it fitted. It did. It was a nice jacket, fine embroidery, thick and warm, comforting even. Rudolf told him to keep it and playfully slapped him on the back “A boy like you needs to take better care of himself these days.” he said, before explaining that it was far too large on Alm and that he would rather the coat went to good use. Zeke kept the jacket.

It was… Nice… To feel welcomed into the family, he recalled one evening in late October where the family were sat around the fire, and so was Zeke. Alm flipping through the pages of one of Celica’s novels, Rudolf telling some story about his youth, Berkut at on a large armchair listening carefully to his uncle, with Rinea sat on his lap sewing up any old clothing.

Zeke felt like he belonged somewhere and it was the best he felt in years.

_November, 1916_

Winter arrived and it was too cold to go outside at all, well, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but that didn’t mean they went out, Zeke would sometimes sneak a fag outside and have a smoke but the bitter air was not something you wanted to be surrounded by, after all it was starting snow pretty quickly and Rigel was known for it’s long and cold winters. They did consider going to see what it was like out and just appreciate the snow instead of complaining about it, although Berkut insisted upon staying indoors, claiming how he didn’t want anyone getting ill and passing it on to him.

_December, 1916_

As Christmas came everyone’s spirits had raised, even though it was certainly less luxurious than the family’s previous holidays, it was a happy one regardless. They had to get creative with gift giving, considering they couldn’t leave the castle grounds to buy anything, although Alm’s links to the Zofian Princess worked in his favour as she sent things to gift to his family, nothing special, just little souvenirs, Rudolf just went through his old collection of items he hadn’t used since he was a boy and gave those out, Berkut just searching around for anything unused in the castle (which happened to include the jewellery Zeke still hadn’t seen Rinea wear ever), and Rinea would just sew up some scarfs or coats or whatever they needed as gifts, everyone was happy and even Zeke got gifts from them all.

He felt like belonged somewhere and that place was with them.

_January, 1917_

As the new year rolled around so did Berkut’s birthday, Rinea bashfully asked Zeke if he could join her in the kitchen, so he did wondering why she needed him, as he looked around he saw that she had a cook book open and was trying to bake a cake, all she wanted was for him to grab the ingredients she couldn’t reach, to which he complied and ended up staying around to help her out, chatting with her, she was a sweet girl and actually getting her to talk with him was rather fun, she told him how she met Berkut when she was 12, how they got engaged when she was 14 and how lucky she was to be with him, he smiled and nodded, although he found it concerning that she only spoke of Berkut, not of her hobbies or her family or any friends (which he was still convinced she had none of) or anything really, just Berkut. Was he the only thing which mattered to her? Or was he the only thing that she felt comfortable talking about?

It wasn’t too long later that Alm wondered in, to see what they were doing, to which he automatically joined them in their baking. The trio laughed and chatted and had a good time, Zeke could have sworn he saw Berkut try to take a peek at what was going on but he didn’t bring it up.

Later that evening Rinea proudly presented the cake to her beloved with a proud grin on her face and he kissed her multiple times to thank her, pecking her cheek a final time before complimenting her abilities.

Afterwards Berkut privately went up to Zeke and thanked him for how he treated Rinea, mentioning something about how she would never forget such kindness, before leaving to retire to bed.

_February, 1917_

The winter was still strong but they began to go outside more often, Rudolf offered Zeke some kind of high-end cigar which was most likely too expensive for what it was. Zeke took it and shared a smoke with him, leaning against the wall he watched the others, chatting with the older man about his life, his hopes, his regrets and his past. The emperor’s company was welcoming and fatherly, he patted Zeke on the shoulder and told him that life is too short to regret anything, that the past can’t be changed and instead focus of the future and how it can be changed by you.

“Focus on what you can do, not what you can not.”

Those words stuck with Zeke just like how the smell of smoke stuck to his coat.

_March, 1917_

It struck him that it had been a year since he started taking care of the Rudolfs. Zeke had never expected to enjoy their company so much, to adore them so much. Emperor Rudolf’s advise and fatherly tendencies, Alm’s boyish and impulsive, yet kind and innocent, nature, almost acting as a little brother to him, Berkut’s mature outlook on life, yet still not quite adult enough to be taken seriously, was certainly something to see, and Rinea’s shy and timidly actions balancing out Berkut’s not-so-shy approach to things.

Zeke never imagined he’d grow attached to the family which just a year ago he had no desire to interact with.

But he felt like one of them, and it felt good.

_April, 1917_

Spring is in bloom, Zeke feels more relaxed this time round, he feels less standoffish and can now enjoy his spring, he talks with the royals, he makes friendly jokes, he laughs, he smiles, he feels welcome and loved and they make him feel this way.

Zeke has never been more grateful for landing such a job before.

_May, 1917_

Zeke grows more and more relaxed as the days go past, he begins engaging in the simple pleasures of life and does the normal chatter with the royals, they talk about their day and joke and eat and just have a good time, nothing new, nothing exciting, but nothing bad.

_June 1917_

The demand for the royal family to be killed is getting higher. People are scared that they will rebel and take back power. Zeke knows they won’t and Zeke knows that people are just getting paranoid because of how long it’s been since the arresting of the family. He lets everyone in current power know that they have nothing to fear and that the family has no intentions of claiming any power they previously had. But they still wanted them gone.

Zeke had been told by his uppers that the family needed to leave the house in late June.

So, he took them out for the first time in over a year. He took them to a private beach and he had never seen them more happy, they all smiled and chattered and laughed and had fun.

But Zeke’s anxiety over what was to come took over any enjoyment he could have taken from the experience. For he knew that the reason they had to leave was because the walls of the house were being tested by bullets to see what were to happen if the Rudolfs were shot in said room.

By the time they arrived, Zeke had been told the basement was the best place for them to be killed.

_July 17th, 1917_

The Rudolfs were demanded to be killed. He could not argue and if he tried, he had no doubts that he would be killed alongside them. He had grown soft and sympathetic towards them, he allowed this year to get to him and he knew he shouldn’t have grown attached but oh dear God he did.

But he had a job to do.

It was dark outside and the family had all retired to bed. He silently made his way up to the second floor where their chambers were located and one by one he told them to get up.

Rudolf did as he was told and got out of bed as soon as he was told and followed after Zeke, after him it was Alm, he groaned and forced himself out of bed, trying to wake himself up as he wandered lazily out of the room wiping his tired eyes like a child, and next it was Berkut and Rinea, as he entered it took himself a second to wake them, as the feeling in his gut grew worse and worse, Rinea was fast asleep in the resting Berkut’s arms, even when unconscious he still tenderly held her petting her and stroking her hair, but he did it. Berkut, much like his uncle, was up and ready to do as told, getting out as Rinea pushed herself up and gingerly held the sheets up to her chest, softly asking if she may dress first, to which Berkut said he’d stay and help. Zeke allowed it.

Those minutes waiting outside the prince’s chambers felt like hours, but at last she was out, clad in a simple white dress worn by most girls her age.

Zeke tried to swallow the lump out of his throat as he instructed them to follow him, to which they did.

“Go to the basement,” he said, as he stood out the way to the door which lead to it “We have to relocate you for your safety.”

And with that they all walked in one by one and as soon as they had all walked in, Zeke called out for the men to join him and they walked in afterwards.

He instructed the royals to stand against the small, which they did in confusion, Berkut was the first to speak up.

“What is the meaning of this?!” he asked sharply.

“Focus on what you can do, not what you can not." was Zeke’s only reply.

Ezekiel turned around and stepped to the other side of the room, and in front of him stood the soldiers, their guns held high, and before anyone could say anything more, they all shot, Zeke shut his eyes, and what he heard was hellish.

The shots, the screams, the thuds of the bodies hitting the ground and then silence.

But it wasn’t complete silence, he opened his eyes to see what had happened, there lay on the ground 4 bodies, but one body was moving. Laying on the ground, curled up with her head between her knees, sobbing in a puddle of her own piss was Rinea, she shakily moved her head up, her wide, watery blue eyes darting from the ground, to the men in front of her, to the body of her beloved on the ground, which just caused her to scream out another high pitched sob for her Berkut.

Zeke wasn’t expecting this, it took him a few seconds to process that she survived the shot fires, if anyone were to live that he wasn’t expecting a petite and fragile girl like Rinea who would have most likely died of heart failure before she was even shot, but there she was, one of the men looked back to Zeke to non-verbally ask what to do. What would Zeke do?... Rinea technically wasn’t a Rudolf, she was meant to be a Rudolf through marriage, but obviously that wasn’t possible now that her only link to royalty was dead. She was never a royal and now was never destined to be one, so why kill her?

 

Ezekiel knew any form of Rinea's survival would be enough to have himself killed, and while he considered himself a coward for doing so, he lifted his head and called out a sharp “Fire!”

And this time he watched.

It was over in seconds. Rinea fell back to the ground before they started shooting and as they did, her final action was to hold onto the hand of her dead fiancé, clutching tightly onto it as if it were for dear life, tears ran down her face as she shut her eyes.

The gunshots were loud and deafening, but the only thing he could hear with the high pitched scream of Rinea which echoed in the room and his mind.

 

...1.

...2.

...3.

...4.

...5.

 

5 seconds later, Zeke finally spoke up “Strip the bodies.” he ordered.

The men did as they were told and stripped them nude. Zeke once again swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched them. And by the time they were done with Rinea’s, he suddenly knew why she wasn’t killed the first time round.

Her corset was thrown off of her carelessly being tossed to the ground, but the way it fell loudly to the ground and looked so much more heavier than it should is what made Zeke’s eyes widen. He bent down and slowly picked it up, turning it inside out, he noticed the whole thing had diamonds and jewels sewn into it. Rinea wasn’t dead the first time round because her fucking  underwear had enough gems sewn into it to protect her from the bullets. And it finally struck him. As he looked down at the corset, he finally knew what Rinea was doing with all that jewellery Berkut was giving her. Was she prepared for this moment?! Was she planning an escape and needed something to sell?! Did Berkut want her to keep his fortune lest she be spared?!

What did it matter now? The Rudolfs were dead.

Zeke began to walk towards the door.

 

“Trample them. Then dispose of them. I’m going for a smoke.”

 

_July 17th, 1925_

It's been almost a decade since the death of the royal family.

A pretty girl, the bar-maiden, with fluffy light green hair tied up in a ponytail pours Zeke a drink.

“You look lost in thought,” she asks as he looked up at her “You regretting anything?”  
Zeke shakes his head.

“There’s no point in living in the past. You can’t change the past, only the future. I’m a big believer in focusing on what you can do, not what you can’t."

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Just a few notes~~  
> -This fanfiction is based on the real events of the Russian Revolution where Tsar Nicolas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, his children, the Grand Duchesses Ogla, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsarevich Alexi, were all held under house arrest from 15th March, 1916 to July 17th, 1917 (the day they were shot up in the basement) during the Communist ruling.  
> \--The scene at the end where Rinea survives the shootings is also based on those events, when they were shot, Maria and Anastasia had sewn jewellery into their underwear, importantly their corsets (Tsarina Alexandra wanted them to keep their wealth if they were to escape to Paris as she wished) which protected them from the shooting the first time round, and then they were shot again which killed them.  
> \---I believe that Alexei grabbed onto his father's hand when he died, which I also used for Rinea's death.  
> \----Despite using Anastasia as a main reference for Rinea's character, I actually believe that Celica's stiry is VERY similar to Anastasia's life, or at least her rumoured life, I will be writing an essay on it if anyone is interested  
> -With the ages, I imagine in-game Rinea being 16 and Berkut being 17, so I decided to make in this fanfiction, until September, 1916, she was 14, in September she turned 15, and in 1917 she was expecting to turn 16.  
> -Zeke is mentioned to "sneak a fag outside", a fag is a cigarette, I realised that it's common British slang, but is not often used outside of the UK, as far as I know


End file.
